Addicted
by twstofate
Summary: Jericho reflects on the woman he hates, loves, and can't live without. Chapter 3 posted-COMPLETED!!!
1. Default Chapter

*** I've wanted to fic this song for a very, very long time (I think I've had a vague plot in mind since late August when I first heard "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback. FYI, The Angel also ficced this song and she did a great job. Our interpretations of the song are a bit different...but that's a good thing. So go read her's too!!! I don't own the song, I don't own the WWF, and guess what...none of this ever happened. I hope you like this. PLEASE review! ***  
  
// Never made it as a wise man  
Couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing //  
  
I've tried to deny it for so many years. It feels like a lifetime. And I've handled it badly. I can't pretend now that my addictions aren't slowly killing me. I can't pretend that I'm the one in control of my life anymore. I can't be the person people see every night, mesmerizing them.  
  
I've done a good job hiding my weaknesses. Maybe too good. Maybe if I had slipped up once or twice someone would have noticed and helped me. Maybes aren't going to do me much good. I know now I have to do something. I have to get myself out of the mess I've created.  
  
The only question is...do I really want out of the mess my life is.  
  
// Tired of living like a blind man  
I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling //  
  
Hello, my name is Chris Jericho and I'm an alcoholic. I know not too many people would expect those words to come out of my mouth. I try to convince everyone around me that I'm perfect. I think I was really just trying to convince myself that I was perfect.  
  
I would stop drinking, except drinking helps me deal with my other addiction. I'm not sure which addiction is more dangerous. But I know I need both of them. My life would be drastically different if either thing were not in my life anymore.   
  
I drink because I can't stand the man I have become. I am the man I have become because of the woman I'm addicted to, the woman I love. The woman I love is none other than Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley.  
  
// This is how you remind me  
This is how you remind me of what I really am //  
  
"Chris Jericho right?" a sweet looking girl asked hesitantly.  
  
"Yeah," I said, not paying much attention to the girl in front of me. I was looking for Vince McMahon or Shane McMahon. This girl was probably just related to some wrestler and was hanging around talking to people.  
  
"I'm supposed to show you to your dressing room," she said.  
  
"Do you mind if I asked who you are?" I asked. I noticed now, as I looked a little more closely at her, she was a little older than the eighteen I had originally imagined. And she had dark circles under eyes.  
  
She laughed dryly, "I guess you don't watch too much of our programming, do you?"  
  
"Just what Mr. McMahon sends to me," I replied.  
  
"I'm Stephanie McMahon," she said, "follow me please."  
  
I watched her walk away from me. I had heard about the boss' daughter, but I had no idea she had a nice little body or a pretty face on her. I shook my head thinking I might like to get to know her.  
  
// It's not like you to say sorry   
I was waiting on a different story //  
  
"How could you not tell me?" I asked. I had never felt more like crying in my life. Stephanie McMahon, no, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley stood in front of me after Armageddon of 1999, tears welling in her eyes.  
  
"I didn't know Chris," she said softly. "I didn't know until I did it. I was going to root for Daddy, but what Hunter said made sense."  
  
"Turning your back on your family and your friends makes sense?" I asked. "Turning your back on me makes sense?"  
  
"Don't do this," she whispered. "You weren't there while I was being held captive. You didn't know how scared I was. You couldn't understand."  
  
"I don't think I want to," I replied. "I made a mistake ever becoming friends with you. I should've know better than to get close to a rich little girl."  
  
// This time I'm mistaken  
For handing you a heart worth breaking //  
  
Stephanie and I had become friends shortly after I came to the WWF. She didn't get along with too many of the divas, mostly because they all thought she was stuck-up. I was new to the WWF so she thought maybe I had some chance of being normal, I guess.   
  
We became really close after she ended up married to Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Test turned his back on her. She was heartbroken. Vince was too wrapped up in making Hunter's life miserable to listen to his daughter. Shane was kind of wrapped up in himself, but he always is. And Linda was busy. She tried to be there for Stephanie but she had so much on her plate.  
  
Still, it was hard to look at Stephanie the same when she betrayed Vince. I knew Hunter had talked to her about allying with him to get back at Vince. But until Armageddon, I had no idea she had seriously thought about it.  
  
// I've been wrong,  
I've been down to the bottom of every bottle //  
  
The sick thing that happened after Stephanie made her marriage with Hunter legitimate is that she became attractive. I always thought she was pretty, but when she started dressing like the slut Hunter wanted her to become, she became sexy.   
  
I started calling her names because she changed who she was for a man. But I liked who she had become deep down inside. She stood up for herself. She wasn't afraid to dress however she pleased and she took all the power she wanted.   
  
She hated that I called her names. She wanted to make me miserable. What she didn't realize is that I liked it when she noticed me, when she made my life a living hell. Maybe that's the masochist in me. I probably never would have fallen for her if I hadn't been a little bit of a masochist. God, I really am sick.  
  
// These five words in my head scream  
"Are we having fun yet?" //  
  
"What the fuck were you thinking about you cretin?" Stephanie asked furiously after she followed me from the ring after my King of the Ring match in 2000.  
  
"Your precious boyfriend won," I replied nastily. "Isn't that what you wanted?"  
  
"Keep your lips off of me," she said, her blue eyes on fire.  
  
I stepped closer to her. "And if I don't?"  
  
"I will make your life miserable," she said, her voice low and husky as she pressed her back against the wall of the hall. I placed a hand on the wall on either side of her head.  
  
"You already make my life miserable," I said. I kissed her again. This time she kissed me back.   
  
// Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no //  
  
"Haven't seen you around too much man," The Rock said, sitting down at a barstool next to me in the hotel bar.  
  
"I didn't realize you would miss me," I said sardonically.  
  
"Why are you drinking?" Rocky asked, eyeing the three empty shot glasses in front of me.  
  
"Women problems," I replied dryly.  
  
"What woman?" Rocky asked.  
  
"That's a secret," I said. "And I'm not drunk enough to tell you yet."  
  
"So what's the problem?" Rocky asked. "Did she leave you?"  
  
"I wouldn't have problems anymore if she left me," I said. "I'd probably be a lot better off if I had never gotten involved with her."  
  
"Why are you with the woman if she drives you to drink?" Rocky asked.  
  
"You'd have to really know the woman to understand," I said.  
  
// It's not like you didn't know that  
I said I love you and I swear still do //  
  
"Fuck," Stephanie whispered as her cell phone rang. She was sleeping in my hotel room. She did that a lot. Hunter didn't give a crap where she was. We had been having an affair for about ten months when the Power Trip started. She hated the Power Trip. She hated Austin. She was starting to hate her husband too. But there wasn't a whole lot she was willing to do to get rid of him. At least not while he was on top.  
  
I watched her talk on the phone as I stroked her bare back. I propped myself up on one elbow and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels from the bedside table and took a swig from the bottle. This was about the time I started noticing that I was drinking a lot. I didn't care that I was drinking. I just noticed it.  
  
When she hung up her phone she leaned against me. "Hey," she whispered. "Can I stay at your house for the next couple of weeks?"  
  
"Yeah," I said. "Why?"  
  
"Because Hunter invited Austin and Debra to stay at our house while Austin's house is being renovated or some such crap," Stephanie said. "I don't know how much more I can take out of that bastard. I wish Hunter would just drop his ass."  
  
"It gives an excuse to be together," I said, lowering my head to kiss her neck.  
  
"I like the sound of that," Stephanie said.  
  
// And it must have been so bad  
Cause living with him must have damn near killed you //  
  
"I hate being here," Stephanie said, tears choking her throat. "And he blames you the whole time. He is the jerk who put his leg down weird."  
  
"Do you want me to come down to Birmingham?" I asked her over the phone.  
  
"No, I'm coming home this weekend," Stephanie said. "I told Hunter I have some business to take care of. And I do, but I'm going to need your help."  
  
"Steph, we're in the middle of this Invasion thing," I said. "I'm kind of wrapped up in it."  
  
"Yeah I saw you kissing my dad's ass," Stephanie remarked dryly.  
  
"I believe it was Austin and Angle getting their noses covered in shit," I said.  
  
"Will you meet me this weekend?" she asked.  
  
// This is how you remind me of what I really am  
This is how you remind me of what I really am //  
  
"It's so good to see you," Stephanie said when she opened her door to see me. She quickly ran into my arms and kissed me.   
  
"Hey baby," I whispered into her mouth. She pulled away and grinned at me as she pulled me into her house.   
  
"Lets get the business out of the way first," Stephanie said. "Then we can enjoy the weekend."  
  
"Wait one second," I said, pulling her into my arms and kissing her again. "Okay, now I can talk business."  
  
"Great," she said. She smiled in a way that reminded me a lot of when we first became friends. "I need you to lend me some money."  
  
"Aren't you the Billion Dollar Princess?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, but all of my money is tied to Daddy and to Hunter," Stephanie explained. "I managed to get some of it free, but it's not near enough."  
  
"Enough for what?" I asked.  
  
"To buy ECW," Stephanie said. "I want to own my own company."  
  
// It's not like you to say sorry   
I was waiting on a different story //  
  
"Why don't you just come back and help your dad beat WCW and then see about buying ECW?" I asked.  
  
"Because I don't want to beat WCW," Stephanie said. "My dad is a jerk and he cheated on my mom. Shane was right when he beat the crap out of him, now it's my turn."  
  
"Steph, I'm with the WWF," I said.  
  
"Look Chris," Stephanie said. "You would be the partner in this venture. Silent of course. But this could be something that we have together."  
  
"Are you saying I would have a job if you managed to kill the WWF?" I asked.  
  
"Stop acting like I'm doing this to you Chris," Stephanie said. "I want to be with you. I want you to be a part of this. I mean, what has Daddy done for you?"  
  
"He made you," I said.  
  
She smiled softly at him. "Is that why you've been nice to him recently?"  
  
"I haven't been nice," I said.  
  
// This time I'm mistaken  
For handing you a heart worth breaking //  
  
"You're sure that's enough?" I asked her. "I have more."  
  
"I know sweetie," she said. "Hey, you need to get some sleep tonight."  
  
"What, do I have tired written on my forehead?" I asked.  
  
"No, you just didn't get much rest this weekend," Stephanie said.  
  
"I know," I said. "I have one question."  
  
"Yeah?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Did you tell Trips about your plans to buy ECW?" I asked.  
  
"You're the only one who knows," she said.  
  
// I've been wrong,  
I've been down to the bottom of every bottle //  
  
I didn't want to help her. But I did want to help her. I tried so hard not to fall in love with her. But I did it anyways. I know better than anyone that Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley is a manipulative bitch. But I want to believe that she loves me. I wanted to believe she was acquiring ECW for us.  
  
She never talked about me defecting to ECW. She kept me informed about everything she was doing. She was the one who suggested that I start calling her names again. Part of her liked that I could still call her names and humiliate her. Part of me liked to do it.  
  
The thing about our relationship is that both of us recognize that we belong together, but we don't like it. Stephanie doesn't like to depend on me. I don't like to need her. So we make each other miserable. We hurt each other. But we always come back to each other.  
  
// These five words in my head scream  
"Are we having fun yet?"  
Yeah, yeah, no, no //  
  
"I hate you!" Stephanie said, tears falling down her cheeks.  
  
"You told me to make fun of your damn surgery Stephanie!" I exclaimed. "You're the one who said the fans would eat that one up."  
  
"Just once could you say no?" she asked. "Could you say you don't want to humiliate me anymore because you think it's juvenile and you love me?"   
  
"You've been testing me?" I asked.  
  
"I guess I got my fucking answer," Stephanie said. "You're a bastard. I'll draw up papers to buy your half of ECW this weekend."  
  
"Fine," I said. "You're a bitch. I thought you knew how I felt about you."  
  
// Never made it as a wise man //  
  
I told myself I could stay away from her. She had the papers messengered to me right before Summer Slam. I looked at them on my table in my dressing room. She wasn't going to get away from me so easily. She may be a bitch, but I loved her.  
  
So I kissed her at a PPV. I know she pretended she didn't like it. But she was waiting for me when I got back to my dressing room. And we made up. I ripped up the papers and we spent the night together.  
  
// Couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing //  
  
"Chris?" Stephanie asked me in the middle of the night.  
  
"Yeah?" I asked.  
  
"Do you really think I'm a bitch?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Do you really want me to answer that?" I asked.  
  
"Yes," she said.  
  
"Yeah I do," I said. "But that's part of what attracted me to you in the first place."  
  
"Then I don't feel so bad thinking you're a bastard," she said. "We're a perfect pair. A bitch and a bastard."  
  
// This is how you remind me  
This is how you remind me of what I really am //  
  
She hasn't told anyone, but she's trying to get Hunter to file for divorce. She doesn't want to be the one to do it because then everyone will feel sorry for Hunter. And she's not that big of a bitch, to divorce a man while he's out with an injury.  
  
And she keeps pissing the crap out of me. She knew it would drive me crazy when she became "friends" with Test again. She knew that I wanted her nowhere around him. But she likes to drive me crazy. Just like I like to embarrass her.  
  
I know our relationship is sick and twisted. I know I drink so I can live with myself after I call the woman I love and need a ho. I need to knock myself into oblivion to continue to love a woman I know is a bitch. But I need her. And I need to drink to stand her.  
  
// It's not like you to say sorry   
I was waiting on a different story //  
  
"What the hell are you thinking about?" I asked her. I had her arm in my hand and I knew I was hurting her but I didn't give a fuck.  
  
"Rob's the best sweetheart," Stephanie said, smiling.   
  
"And you want him to kill me?" I asked.  
  
"I think you can beat him," Stephanie said innocently. "You used to be ECW. Most people would be shocked to know you're still ECW."  
  
"I can't take this anymore," I said.  
  
// This time I'm mistaken  
For handing you a heart worth breaking //  
  
"Take what Chris?" Stephanie asked, her eyes gleaming. "That we would rather hurt each other than make each other happy?"  
  
"Is that what we would rather?" I asked.   
  
"We have for over a year," she said. "You know what I think?"  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"That you like hurting me," Stephanie said, smiling seductively. "And you like when I hurt you."  
  
"Fuck, your arm," I said, realizing I had been nearly crushing it.  
  
"You want to make it better Chris?" she asked.  
  
"Are you going to keep hitting on Rob Van Dam?" I asked.  
  
"Would it make you angry if I did?" she asked, her eyes looking devilish.  
  
// I've been wrong,  
I've been down to the bottom of every bottle //  
  
"I'm such an idiot for caring about you," I said to her. And then I kissed her. And she kissed me back.  
  
She would leave the room and I would go get my flask of whiskey out of my gym bag. She would show up at my hotel room and we would have sex. That's how it always goes. I started hating myself for loving her somewhere along the way. I don't know when. But it doesn't matter anymore.  
  
Because I need her. And I hate her. And I'll never leave her.  
  
// These five words in my head scream  
"Are we having fun yet?"  
Yeah, yeah, no, no //  
  
*** Welcome to the dark side. I don't know, I just had to get that out of my system. A lot of the stuff I write about these two will probably be darker from now on. I guess I feel like being angsty. Later! *** 


	2. I'm On Fire

*** This is going to be weird because I originally intended "Addicted" to be a one chapter story and this was originally going to be a second chapter for "Hallelujah" but the way it came out it worked better with "Addicted", so there you go. Also, I started writing this before Survivor Series so it doesn't work with current storylines...but who really cares, right? I don't own the WWF- this fic is disclaimed. And I also don't own the song which is "I'm On Fire" by Bruce Springsteen. With all that said and done...enjoy (and PLEASE review!!!) ***   
  
// Hey little girl   
Is your Daddy home? //  
  
I followed her down the hall. She knew I was following her. She always knows. Just like I know she'll be waiting for me whenever he's away. And he's been away for months now. It's not that she's lonely. We've been sneaking around for well over a year.   
  
"He's coming back," she whispered as I pulled her into my arms.  
  
"What?" I asked, pulling back.  
  
"He called me this morning," she said, not looking at my face. "He's coming back."  
  
"So?" I asked.   
  
"Don't you care?" She asked, her blue eyes already fiery.  
  
"We've done this with him around before," I said. "The fact is that he's so absorbed in himself that he never really pays any attention to you."  
  
"He's not the only one now is he?" she asked, turning away from me.  
  
"What the hell?" I asked in shock.  
  
"You could care less about me Chris Jericho," she whispered furiously. "At least Hunter likes my money."  
  
// Did he go and leave you all alone? //  
  
"Stephanie," I said, following her down a hall three days later.   
  
"What do you want Chris Jericho?" she asked disdainfully.  
  
"Don't play games," I said. "You decided you were going to purposely misunderstand me or you were going to test me or whatever."  
  
"Do you realize that at any minute your friends or my employees could walk by and catch us?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Do you think I give a damn?" I asked.  
  
"Jericho, I don't know what games you're playing, but I'm not participating," Stephanie said.  
  
"You're not going to have a choice soon," I said.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I know a few things you don't Stephanie ," I said. "You'll see at Survivor Series."  
  
"Tell me," Stephanie said.  
  
"Wait like a good little girl," I said, kissing her lightly and walking away.  
  
// I got a bad desire  
I'm on fire //  
  
"Jesus Christ Jericho," Jeff said as he walked toward me the night before Survivor Series.  
  
"Hey Jeffrey," I said happily. "How's my best friend?"  
  
"How much did you drink?" he asked.  
  
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "I'm not drunk."  
  
"Okay, you're plastered then," Jeff said. "What's your room number?"  
  
"Don't you have a girlfriend you should be with right now?" I asked.  
  
"She's going to sleep early because she's going to win the Women's Championship tomorrow," Jeff said proudly.  
  
"Lita might have something to say about that," Matt said, coming up from behind me.  
  
"It could be that the mystery opponent is my girlfriend you know," I said.  
  
"You want to say that a little louder Jericho?" Matt asked, looking cautiously around the hall. "I'm pretty sure I saw Hunter earlier."  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the shit's about to hit the fan," I said, suddenly sobering up.  
  
// Tell me now baby is he good to you? //  
  
"Make me puke," I said the next night at the venue. It was pretty normal for Hunter to come to the pay-per-views and see how everyone was doing and to hang all over Stephanie...like he actually cared or something.  
  
"Jericho, you might want to not glare at Stephanie's husband," Lita said, stretching next to me.  
  
"Am I being obvious?" I asked.  
  
"Just a little," Lita said. "But at least you're supposed to hate him anyway. It's possible that no one would guess that you're in love with his wife."  
  
"I can hope," I said. "Good luck Red."  
  
"Don't wish me luck," Lita said. "We all know who's going to win. Hell, Kurt came and talked to me."  
  
"Kurt crosses enemy lines a lot to talk to you anymore," I commented.  
  
"Don't read too much into it Jericho," she said. "I love Matt. Matt loves me."  
  
"I know," I said. "But be careful with the Olympic Zero. He's a nice guy."  
  
// Can he do to you the things   
I will do //  
  
"Great job Stephanie," I said snidely as we ran into each other in the refreshment area. She beamed up at me, patting the women's championship belt proudly.  
  
"Thanks Y2J," she said. "Not that I need your approval."  
  
"It only took Kurt and Test helping you to get that belt," I said, wishing I could really congratulate her in public.  
  
"It's more than would help you," she replied.  
  
"You doing okay?" I asked lowly as I turned to the table to get a drink.  
  
"Yeah," she said. "What do you know?"  
  
"I can't tell you Stephanie," I said, bending down and pretending to fiddle with my boot. "But don't trust that man you say loves your money."  
  
"Do you really love me?" she asked suddenly.  
  
I looked around in shock. No one had overheard. "You'll find out soon."  
  
"Jericho, stop playing with me," Stephanie said. "My future is on the line here."  
  
"So is mine," I said. "Don't worry. You'll be okay. Especially now that you are a champion."  
  
// I can take you higher.  
I'm on fire //  
  
Hunter was in the middle of the ring. He had cleared it of everyone, it didn't matter if they were WCW, ECW, or WWF. Stephanie climbed into the ring beaming up at him. I was just climbing back to the ring.  
  
Hunter embraced his wife. She pulled away to celebrate with him when he pulled her close again. And then he prepped her for a pedigree. I sprang into action as soon as I heard Stephanie scream in terror. I flew at Hunter and knocked him away from Stephanie.  
  
I put him in the Walls of Jericho until I saw Rocky get into the ring. "Can you take of this ass Rocky?" I asked. The Rock was happy to oblige, HHH is one of the few people he dislikes more than me.  
  
"He was going to help the WWF you jerk," Vince McMahon screamed from ringside.  
  
"You monster," I said. "He was going to destroy your daughter. If that's what you think is okay, I don't think I need to work for you anymore."  
  
I walked over to Stephanie and picked her up into my arms. She was sobbing. I helped her out of the ring and then picked her up again as I carried her out of the arena. "It will be okay baby," I whispered to her.  
  
"You knew," she cried brokenly.  
  
// Sometimes it's like someone took a knife  
Baby edgy and dull //  
  
I heard the pain in her voice, the pain that cut to my soul. "I didn't know per se, I just had an idea Steph," I said. She continued to cry.  
  
"How could you not tell me he was going to try to hurt me?" she asked, not looking into my eyes.  
  
"I didn't know he was going to try and pedigree you Steph," I said. "I just knew that he had been talking to Vince a lot lately."  
  
"Everything's over now," Stephanie cried. "My marriage, my company, everything."  
  
"Hey, I am still here for you," I said.   
  
"You just lost your job Jericho," Stephanie said. "You don't really need me hanging all over you while you try to find another way to make a living."  
  
"Last time I checked, I happen to own half a company," I said. "And I never agreed to my company dissolving if my wrestlers lost some match."  
  
"Fine, you think ECW can solve everything...you're an alcoholic Jericho," Stephanie said. "You think I didn't notice that you are always drinking didn't you. Well I notice."  
  
// And cut a six-inch valley   
Through the middle of my soul //  
  
"Do you even know why I drink Stephanie?" I asked her. "Do you have a clue?"  
  
"Because you can't handle your life," she said sounding just a bit testy.  
  
"Because I can't handle you," I said, finally setting her down on the ground. "But so help me God I need you Stephanie. How many of the men in your life could have said that?"  
  
"Don't blame me for your drinking!" Stephanie screamed. "I have enough to deal with Jericho! I can't be responsible for that too!"  
  
"You aren't!" I said. "And I can get better now because you are finally get rid of that asshole you are married to."  
  
"Can you get better?" she asked sarcastically.  
  
"Why is it half the time I want to strangle you and the other half I want to run you off to bed?" I asked her.  
  
"You're just lucky I guess," she said.  
  
// At night I wake up   
With the sheets soaking wet //  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jeff asked.  
  
"He's proving a point," Stephanie said. I could hear a note of concern in her voice. But I was too keyed into my uncontrollable shaking.  
  
"Your dad wants to know where he is," Jeff said.  
  
"He's decided to stop drinking," Stephanie said. "He's weak. I can't let anyone get near him yet."  
  
"I thought you were mad at me Princess," I said, my jaw garbling my words.  
  
"Jericho, I'm always mad at you," she said. "It doesn't change the fact that I love you."  
  
"Matt and I will keep Vince off the trail as long as we can," Jeff said. "He'll be better eventually."  
  
// And a freight train running   
Through the middle of my chest //  
  
I looked over at the chair beside the hotel bed I was lying on. She was curled up in a ball, sleeping. She was so beautiful. Over the past three weeks she had introduced me to a woman I had never known existed. A woman who stood by me while I was screaming bloody murder at her. I never understood when people said that their heart swelled with love for someone before those weeks.  
  
"You're awake," Stephanie said, as she raised her head.  
  
I held out my arms to her. She climbed onto the bed and curled up next to me. "Thanks for being here for me baby," I said. "I know I'm not cured, but I think you made this a lot easier."  
  
"Well, now that I know you are my future," Stephanie said. "It's hard to leave you stranded."  
  
"Your future?" I asked.  
  
"You're the only one who stood up for me," Stephanie said. "I think part of me always thought maybe you didn't love me, but when you did that...I knew."  
  
"I can't believe you doubted me for a second," I said.  
  
"It was me," Stephanie said, "I'm not too trusting of others."  
  
"Promise to trust me?" I asked her.  
  
"I will try my hardest," she promised me, kissing me softly.  
  
// Only you   
Can cool my desire //  
  
She held onto my hand as she signed a paper, a paper freeing her from her marriage. She had just signed another paper serving Vince with a notice that the ECW was still alive.  
  
"You ready for this meeting?" she asked me.  
  
"You're still the boss," I said. "I'll just be another wrestler."  
  
"You'll be more," Stephanie said. "You'll be a leader. An inspiration."  
  
"I don't need to be a leader Stephanie," I said. "All I need is to do my job. I need you and wrestling. Since I seem to have both, I'm flying high."  
  
"Will you lead my team?" she asked.  
  
"I didn't realize it was that important to you," I said.   
  
"I want to entrust everything I have to you," she said.  
  
"Steph," I whispered.  
  
"Everything I have, I want it to be ours," she said.  
  
// I'm on fire  
I'm on fire  
I'm on fire //  
  
I remember when everything about Stephanie and I was attraction, hate, and tortured love. It's hard to remember liking that. Because, walking down a hallway with her hand in mine is one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I don't care that my old fans won't like me anymore. I don't care that I'm not wrestling for the greatest wrestling company anymore.  
  
All that matters is that the one woman who showed me what true love and desire is believes in me enough to give me all that she has. 


	3. All I want is You

*** Okay, this is the finale of this little story. I was going to make this a long saga, but I got a great idea and I told myself that I couldn't start writing that until I finished all of my unfinished stories. So all of my stories seemed to drop a few chapters and became much simpler. But if I stayed the course, these stories probably would have sucked because my heart wasn't in it. I figured this was the way to go. I use "All I Want Is You" by U2 for this fic. I really love this song...and I don't own it (darn!) This one is from Stephanie's POV. I hope you like it! ***  
  
// You say you want  
A diamond on a ring of gold //  
  
I remember what I was like before all of this happened. I was a woman who was always sure that she could get exactly what she wanted. I could have any man that I wanted. I could have any little thing my heart desired just by asking. I could probably get the moon if I asked enough times.  
  
I don't know what changed me. Maybe it was the man I fell in love with. Maybe it was seeing myself flaunting how spoiled I was. Maybe it was my priorities that changed. And I don't know when it happened either. Because I think it happened before I even noticed I was changing.  
  
I know that I could never be the spoiled little girl who gets exactly what she wants ever again. I take what I want now. Of course, I look next to me and see a man. And that man is all I ever will want. I don't think he knows that. I think he looks at me and still sees the girl who expects to have things done for her. I wish I could show him I've changed.  
  
// You say you want  
Your story to remain untold //  
  
And now we are going to announce that for well over a year, we have been having an affair. I know Hunter and I are divorced, but it's still going to kill him. Not because he loved me, but because he's my best friend and he wanted to know what was going on in my life.  
  
Hunter will be even more hurt when he finds out that it was Chris Jericho that I turned to when I needed help purchasing ECW. I know he would have helped me if I just asked. But I expected the ECW to become something special and I wanted to share that with the man I was in love with. Of course, Hunter didn't tell me that he was going to go back to the WWF and he definitely didn't tell me he was going to pedigree me. I guess I really shouldn't feel so guilty.  
  
I can't believe the world is going to find out about us. We were so special for so long because no one knew. And then a few of his friends knew. Now the world is going to know. It just seems so strange. But Jericho wants to give my company back to me. I wonder when I stopped caring about ECW.  
  
// All the promises we made  
From the cradle to the grave  
When all I want is you //  
  
"Chris?" I asked, "can we talk?"  
  
"Sure sweetheart," Jericho said. I look at him and see him through eyes that I didn't know I had. He looks so different. He lost a lot of weight when he stopped drinking. A lot of weight. I wonder if he could even face Scotty 2 Hotty anymore. "What's up?"  
  
"I was thinking," I said. "Do we really want to keep ECW alive?"  
  
"Stephanie, this was your dream," Jericho replied. "I want you to have your dream."  
  
"But is it your dream?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"My dream was to get to the WWF," Jericho said. "I've lived my dream. It's time for someone else's dream."  
  
He looked so willing to make my dream his own that I can't bear to tell him it wasn't my dream anymore.  
  
// You say you'll give me  
A highway with no one on it //  
  
"What the hell do you mean the ECW is still alive?" Vince asked Jericho and I.  
  
"I mean that Jericho was my silent partner," I said, trying to keep a tremble out of my voice. "And he never agreed to the stipulation that the ECW would go out of business if we lost a match."  
  
"So?" Vince asked.  
  
"So the ECW isn't out of business Vince," Jericho sighed. "And Stephanie and I are welcoming all of our superstars back into our federation. And anyone who's sick and tired of you is welcome here too."  
  
"You can't do this!" Vince said.  
  
"We talked to lawyers Daddy," Stephanie said. "It's all perfectly legal."  
  
Jericho and I walked past Vince toward the back. I didn't feel the same satisfaction I felt when I announced that I owned ECW. I felt unsure, like I had jeopardized something much more important than myself.  
  
// Treasure just to look upon it  
All the riches in the night //  
  
"We'll be a success this time Stephanie," Jericho assured me, his arm around my waist. "You'll have everything you ever wanted."  
  
"What do I want Chris?" I asked, curious if either of us had any clue what I wanted.  
  
"Power, influence, money," Jericho said. "The stuff you grew up seeing your dad have."  
  
"I guess so," I said. "You'll give that all to me?"  
  
"I'll try my best," Jericho said. "You deserve whatever you want."  
  
"Do I?" I asked.  
  
// You say you'll give me  
Eyes on a moon of blindness //  
  
I sat in a dark room. I don't know what the hell I was doing there. I had been so confused since Survivor Series and it was just starting to hit me. At first I was so involved in helping Chris. But since he was sober I had a chance to think about what had happened to me.  
  
My brother, the one guy I always knew I could count on wasn't talking to me. I guess I couldn't blame him. If I had gotten Jericho to help us in a more visible way before, WCW wouldn't be out of business. My mom thought I was a slut. I wanted to be like my mom when I was a little girl. And my dad, well, I never really understood my dad. I think he would really like to humiliate me.  
  
The only constant in my life seemed to be Chris Jericho. A man I had an affair with because he was exciting. A man I loved to make miserable. A man who had become more important to me than anything else in my life.  
  
And I knew. I knew that the only thing that was important to me was Jericho. Jericho and our future together. But I wondered if he had any idea what was in our future.  
  
// A river in a time of dryness  
A harbor in the tempest //  
  
"Hey," Jericho said, coming into the room and turning on a light.   
  
"Hi," I said softly. "How was the gym?"  
  
"It was the gym," he said. "What are you doing sitting in the dark?"  
  
"Trying to make sense of everything," I said. "I don't even know who I've become."  
  
"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known," Jericho said. "And you are smart and passionate."  
  
"Chris, I have something I have to tell you," I said.  
  
"This sounds important," Jericho said.  
  
"It really is," I said.  
  
// All the promises we make  
From the cradle to the grave  
When all I want is you //  
  
"What is it?" Jericho asked.  
  
"I don't think I care about ECW anymore Chris," I said slowly. "It used to be so important to me, but now I could leave it without a backwards glance."  
  
"What are you saying?" Jericho asked.  
  
"I don't exactly know," I replied.  
  
"You're not making sense," Jericho said. "What brought all of this on?"  
  
"You've done so much for me Chris, without even questioning me," I said. "But now something actually important has happened."  
  
"What?" Jericho asked.  
  
"I'm pregnant with our baby," I said, a tear slipping down my cheek.  
  
// You say you want  
Your love to work out right  
To last with me through the night //  
  
"A baby?" Jericho asked in shock. "And you don't care about the ECW anymore?"  
  
"It seems almost trivial now," I said. "Nothing seems like it holds a candle to you and me and our soon-to-be family."  
  
"Oh Steph," he said, taking me in his arms. "So you want this baby?"  
  
"Of course!" I exclaimed. "Don't you?"  
  
"Yes," Jericho said. "More than I've ever wanted anything. Except for you."  
  
"Thank God," I said.   
  
// You say you want  
A diamond on a ring of gold //  
  
"So what do you want to do with ECW?" Jericho asked.  
  
"I want to sell it to Shane," I said. "I need to make things right with him. He was always there for me. And I want him to be the uncle of my baby in a real sense."  
  
"Okay," Jericho said.  
  
"You aren't going to question it?" I asked.  
  
"If it's what you want, it's what I want," Jericho said. "The only thing I want that you haven't mentioned is to get married."  
  
"Of course I want to get married," I said.  
  
"I know that wasn't a romantic proposal," Jericho said. "But I'll get you a ring soon."  
  
"The ring doesn't matter," I said, not even believing it. "You're what matters."  
  
// Your story to remain untold  
Your love to not grow old //  
  
"One last thing," I said. "Can we walk away from this all?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Jericho asked.  
  
"I mean, I know you love wrestling," I said. "I don't know if we can leave this entirely."  
  
"Of course we can," Jericho said. "We can move to a little town where neither of us have ties and we can live happily ever after."  
  
"Did you ever think we would end up here?" I asked.  
  
"No," Jericho answered honestly. "I thought you would be my undoing."  
  
"Same here," I said. "I never expected you to be my salvation."  
  
"I like the sound of that," Jericho said.  
  
// But all the promises we break  
From the cradle to the grave  
And all I want is you //  
  
*** Ah, another happily ever after. Please, please, please review. Flames are welcome...I just like to know people are actually reading this stuff! I hope you liked it! *** 


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